Purana
Sign in to savePuranas () are a vast genre of Hindu literature that include a wide range of topics, especially legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other South Asian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Devi, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.
AI overview
Puranas are a large collection of Hindu texts written in Sanskrit and South Asian languages that contain legends, traditional stories, and symbolic narratives, often named after major deities like Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi. These works matter because they are foundational to Hindu and Jain religious traditions, preserving centuries of cultural lore through complex layered stories and symbolism.
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Article
27 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Origin
- Dating
- Texts
- Mahapuranas
- Upapurana
- Skanda Purana
- Content
- Symbolism and layers of meaning
- Puranas as a complement to the Vedas
- Puranas as encyclopedias
- Puranas as religious texts
- Jainism
- Sectarian, pluralistic or monotheistic theme
- Puranas as historical texts
- Manuscripts
- Chronology
- Forgeries
- Translations
- Influence
- Notes
- References
- Citations
- Cited sources
- Further reading
- External links
- Translations
Puranas () are a vast genre of Hindu literature that include a wide range of topics, especially legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other South Asian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Devi, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.
The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, heroes, heroines, sages, other gods, other goddesses, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, theology, philosophy, etc. The content is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Hindu Mahapuranas are traditionally attributed to Vyasa, but many scholars consider them likely the work of many authors over the centuries; in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned.